November 4, 09

NEWS / CBP Seizes Fake Video Game Machines at Los Angeles Seaport

Los Angeles — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today the seizure of a shipment containing 168 coin-operated video game machines for violating intellectual property rights. The shipment had a total domestic value of $138,000 and a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $672,000.

CBP officers seized the video game machines on October 23 after confirming the video games were not legally authorized. The shipment had arrived inside a sea container from China.


The machines contained several copyrighted video games, which are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and recorded with CBP. The video games found on the coin-operated machines were Frogger, Scramble, Time Pilot, Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3 and Donkey Kong. CBP seized the items when the importer was unable to provide authorization from the owners.


CBP has designated intellectual property rights enforcement a priority trade issue, devoting considerable resources and personnel to property rights enforcement. CBP’s strategic approach is multi-layered and includes seizing fake goods at our borders, pushing the border outward through audits of infringing importers, cooperation with our international trading partners and collaborating with industry and other government agencies to enhance these efforts.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/11022009_5.xml